


Beware of the Jensen

by morganaDW (morgana07)



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: AU J2, Creature Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Bottom Jared, M/M, Mild Mpreg, Other: See Story Notes, Protective Jensen, Schmoop, Slightly hurt Jared, mention of MPREG, no sex shown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-30
Updated: 2015-09-30
Packaged: 2018-04-24 03:51:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4904491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morgana07/pseuds/morganaDW
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared Padalecki was born human. Jensen Ackles was born a Transmorph with the ability to shift forms. When they met years earlier there was an instant bond that connected them and has grown over the years together.</p><p>When trouble follows Jared home one night after months of harassment, it's up to his very protective husband to show why it's never wise to threaten a wolf's mate, especially right then.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author Note: I'm putting this at the front just to give a heads up. This story was written for a Creature-Fic challenge and is shorter than my usual J2 AU stuff. There is no real sex shown but it is implied as is the Mpreg. There's schmoop and sap though with some hurt/comfort and humor. It is implied that Jared would be the bottom for those that it might matter to.
> 
> Warning: Mild language, some minor violence, some mention of MPreg but this IS NOT a A/B/O story so there's no fear of that for those who don't care for that.
> 
> Beta: lotrspnfangirl
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Beware of the Jensen**

**Chapter One**

“No, you cannot rip his heart out and feed it to him. Why? Uhhh, because it’s _illegal_ , we’d have to move again, and I actually like this place, even if my current co-worker is a jackass who can’t take a hint! Yes, I have reported it to my boss… but she just says he’s being friendly and to either ignore or… No, you can’t rip her heart out either. Have I mentioned lately that you get a bit more stereotypically violent the two times of year this happens?”

Jared Padalecki sighed as he slumped on the worn out sofa with his head back, eyes closed to try to control the pounding between his ears as his head ached while trying to settle both his own on-edge emotions and the ones he could feel from beside him.

“I can’t quit! Or at least not right now. We need the income until your pay starts again once you go back to the office and it’s not like he’s actually hurting me or… dude, don’t _growl_ at me! If you want to tell me I’m a moron for putting up with Justin’s advances? Than just tell me,” Jared muttered while prying open one eye to glance beside him on the sofa. He met glittering green eyes staring back at him from what looked to be a very large, and currently very unhappy, black and gray wolf.

‘ _Fine. You’re a moron for putting up with that jackass’ advances and that bitch of a boss you have will be getting a call from her superiors_ , _or a visit from the code administrators_ , _the moment I either get back to work or have two opposing thumbs to hold a damn phone! Damn it, Jay! You said he’d backed off of hitting on you like you were a piece of meat._ ’

It had stopped being odd to Jared to feel his husband’s thoughts in his head 10 years ago when they first met and Jensen had literally saved an 18 year old Jared’s life after an innocent camping trip in the Tennessee mountains nearly turned deadly.

To this day, Jared wasn’t sure what had shocked him more: the fact that his co-called cousin had basically tricked him, lied to him, drugged him, and left him in the woods alone to be food for the bears, wolves, and other wildlife, or that when the slender, lean black and gray wolf jumped between Jared and two other wolves to stare them down all while telling Jared to be calm… with his thoughts.

‘ _Be calm. Don’t move. You’re safe._ ’ The wolf’s thoughts had echoed in the mind of the confused and frightened young man as it glared at the other animals until slowly they backed off, as if accepting the black/gray wolf’s demands to leave the boy alone. Of course, Jared’s next shock came when he regained consciousness to find the wolf lying beside him as if to keep him warm and learned what else his wolf rescuer really was.

Transmorphs, as Jared knew from his scientist parents, were different from were-creatures who were born a specific creature from a family line. Transmorphs were born human but would shift to their animal form usually by the age of five or six, and that form could be anything regardless of what the parent’s animal form might be; though it was rare for them to be something different if both parents were of the same animal species.

Jensen, as the confused 18 year old would learn once his head was clear and the wolf walked back with him to camp, had been born to parents who were both feline in their core animal form. He’d been basically abandoned to the foster care system the moment he morphed the first time into a wolf and his humiliated parents decided to cut their losses and try again.

He’d grown up basically being tossed from one foster home to another until he hit 18, and then had to struggle on his own in a small Tennessee town that looked down on him for not only being a transmorph but also a wolf in an area with actual wolf packs already living.

Jared knew that like most were-creatures, a transmorph could change at will once they were old enough to do so, but unlike were-creatures there were two times a year that a transmorph had to change and couldn’t shift back for no sooner than 7 and sometimes as long as 16 days.

It was what his mother had explained to him and the wolf as a transmorph’s mating cycle where if one had met his mate, he would go into heat sometime during those cycles.

Jensen knew the basics of what he was and what that meant for him after one, almost kind, family had tried to explain it to him. He’d been about 10 and in the process of going through one of his two mandatory changes. He’d learned being miserable because of being treated cruelly as a child was one thing, but when he was in this form, it always seemed to get worse.

Transmorphs, like Were-creatures, usually had a chosen mate and it was usually of their own kind. Jensen had never much considered looking for his since, in addition to being what he was, he also figured out early on he was gay and that put ever finding his mate low on his list of things to do… Until the night he’d been prowling the woods restlessly and sensed a change, not only within himself, but in the environment.

He’d followed the odd feelings and the weak little voice he thought he could hear in his head until he stumbled upon the big eyed young man being stalked by two of the local wolves. A look told Jensen that the boy had been drugged and couldn’t run if he’d wanted to; not that one could ever outrun a werewolf once it had scented its prey.

The two wolves weren’t interested in the boy as anything but prey to play with, and Jensen could hear their thoughts like he could the wolves in the area and knew they’d been paid off by the asshole who’d drugged and left Jared out there to die. It was frowned upon to ever step between local wolves and someone they’d chosen either as prey or mate, but Jensen reacted before he’d even thought and put himself between the wolves and the boy.

‘ _Mine_ ,’ he growled at them over a link no human could hear, or should’ve heard. ‘ _Leave him be. It’s against town law to kill a human for sport and the cops might not like me_ , _but the moment I shift_ , _if you touch him I will report both of your sorry asses. He’s mine._ ’

Normally weres wouldn’t have backed off, but that time they did, and it wasn’t until a still-in-shock Jared was rattling off to his parents about hearing the wolf in his head and not being scared of him, that it began to come to light why they hadn’t just torn them both apart, why Jared could hear Jensen, and how Jensen had sensed Jared to begin with.

It was the moment the wolf had jumped to protect Jared from his enraged cousin when the 19-year-old had learned his little stunt had backfired, that it was plain to the senior Padalecki’s what was happening and how lucky their son had been to have been found by Jensen, given how little he knew about things.

“Transmorphs usually don’t bond or mate with humans, but it has happened if a strong enough bond exists.” Jared’s father told him after he’d dealt with his jealous and angry nephew. “It’s not unheard of, though not popular with others of their kind. I believe you can hear Jensen and he can hear you because you’re soulmates, but we’ll see what happens if he chooses to stay until his cycle is over.”

Jensen did stay in the Padalecki summer home until the end of that cycle. He stayed close beside Jared the entire time as he tried to understand the ins and outs of communicating with someone while he was stuck in his wolf form. Since usually no one could hear or understand him, it was something new for him. As was learning about the boyishly handsome 18-year-old, with his quirky habits and his funny and caring nature. It made Jensen uneasy and worried how Jared would feel about him when he did shift back to human form.

From the moment he first shifted at 5 years old, to the night he first encountered Jared and his parents, Jensen had been filled with so many hurtful lies about himself and what he was, that it was difficult to accept the genuine kindness from the couple and their son.

Waking one morning to feel a hesitant touch tracing his jawline and opening his eyes to see a curious Jared sitting beside him, Jensen felt the connection between them even stronger than before, but wasn’t sure if Jared did until he saw the bright dimpled smile flash at him before a hand was held out and Jared officially introduced himself.

“Hi! I’m Jared.”

Jensen had warily looked at the extended hand before slowly reaching out to take it in his. “Jensen,” he’d said and hoped that low thrill of seeing Jared smile at him never left him.

At 20, Jensen was older than his new friend, but hadn’t managed to get through school due to the prejudices he encountered. And since none of his foster families cared enough, he had dropped out in Junior High. The ruggedly handsome man was far from stupid though, as Mrs. Padalecki learned, and the moment she realized that and realized that he and her son had already bonded tightly as friends in the week he’d been stuck in wolf form, decided to do what was needed to help him get a GED and go on from there.

That had been 10 years ago and neither man had ever looked back or doubted either the bond that had first linked them as friends or two years later as lovers for the first time.

Jensen had no family to speak off since he hadn’t seen his natural parents since they dumped him for having the wrong animal form, so when he was offered the chance to leave Tennessee with Jared’s family, to live with them, to go back to school and decide what he wanted to do with his life, he’d agreed.

Of course, Jensen hadn’t thought much of going to school or doing much more than finding a job to make a living, so he could support himself and maybe Jared. He flat out swore to the Padalecki’s that he’d pay them back for their generosity, kindness, and their trust as it took him a long time to accept that the couple and their son were genuinely that kind.

It still amused Jensen that somehow in a year of leaving Tennessee, he had not only a GED but decided to take a few classes in the same Texas college that Jared was going to so they could share a place off campus rather than deal with any issues of dormitory living, especially since they still had Jensen’s twice yearly cycle shifts to contend with.

The college had been understanding as they actually had many Transmorphs who attended, so during that week or two that Jensen didn’t attend classes, Jared was allowed to bring the lessons home and read them to him so at least Jensen would know what was being taught and wasn’t too far behind when he went back.

Their unusual relationship wasn’t always smooth, as they did encounter issues from both the transmorph community who didn’t approve of Jensen bonding with a human, and the human side of the coin who disapproved of Jared’s relationship with the sub-par species as some still considered transmorphs to be.

“I love you, Jen. I don’t care what those people say, if you don’t care what people say about me.” Jared had said after one particularly ugly scene in a bookstore where some college clique thought they could ambush Jared and bully him into ‘being cleansed’ and the normally quiet, still often shy Jared had leveled all six of them by himself until campus security arrived to contain the situation.

“I’m used to the looks and comments, but I don’t want you to be treated like a goddamn freak just because your boyfriend happens to be able to shift into a wolf!” Jensen had mumbled while cleaning the bruises that evening, once he’d been talked out of going back to campus and showing the six guys why touching Jared wasn’t a good plan.

The bond they shared was stronger than most bonds between soulmates, as one of Jensen’s professors had pointed out after meeting Jared the first time and feeling the vibes that they shot off when close to one another, so it angered Jensen when Jared was hurt or pushed around; the protectiveness he’d felt for his mate had never diminished from that first night and Jensen didn’t think it ever would.

That’s why now he was less than thrilled to learn that Jared’s asshole co-worker, a man that Jensen had already warned off twice, was _still_ bothering him.

They’d married two years earlier, right after Jensen got out of the Police Academy to accept a job with the local police department in a town outside of Portland, Oregon.

Jared had gotten a couple of degrees in various fields, but he liked helping people so he went into the physical therapy field and had been hired at an office in Portland where he mostly really loved working… until a year earlier when a new therapist was hired; a new therapist who didn’t quite get that his advances were not welcome or returned.

It seemed like whenever Jensen had to take time to allow for the mandatory cycle change, the asshole’s advances picked up. Jared had tried not to let Jensen know that because he worried either his husband would do something drastic, or Justin would try to cause him trouble on the police force like he’d threatened a couple times before.

They both still encountered bigotry and misunderstandings over their relationship but worked to ignore it as most of their friends and their co-workers understood and accepted both of them, as individuals and as a couple. Only a few cops had issues with Jensen when he was hired and there had only been some mild shock from Jared’s co-workers when it was discovered that not only was he gay but was in a relationship with a transmorph, as some narrow minded people still believed as a human he should only consort with his own kind. It seemed like Justin Hartley was one those who had such beliefs, and was now getting bolder about expressing them.

Jensen had been off work for a week already through his second cycle shift of the year and had been at the nice, quiet, two story home he and Jared had purchased with money given from Jared’s parents as a wedding present. When Jared had come home that night, and the moment his husband came in the door, the wolf knew something was wrong.

He was used to seeing Jared come home tired; the younger man liked to help people, but there were times when Jensen feared the damn woman who ran the therapy practice was taking advantage of that and working Jared too hard while not giving the same load of patients or office work to her other therapists.

Seeing Jared tired wasn’t anything new but seeing him with a bruise on his face and how he was favoring his right arm sure as hell was. Jensen was off the sofa and in front of his pale faced husband in two good leaps demanding to know what the hell had happened and who the hell was he making kibble out of.

In the 10 years since they’d met, Jensen’s wolf form had grown so it was larger, more powerful, even though it was still lean like his human form was. It could terrify anyone who didn’t know it was him, or didn’t know who or what he was, and might think Jared had a really large, somewhat terrifying, dog for a pet.

Normally, he didn’t like to use his wolf form to frighten people as he’d seen too many werewolves do that growing up in Tennessee, but right now as he laid beside Jared on their sofa listening to him explain the day’s events and how the pushy and demanding Justin had cornered him in the locker room as he was leaving, Jensen was deciding he might be making an exception to that damn rule.

 _‘You need to tell that woman either she does something about Hartley or you’re going over her head and filing a sexual harassment suit_.’ Jensen wished so much for the ability to smooth back Jared’s hair from where it was in his face. There were moments when paws didn’t work for what he wanted to do, so he did the best he could and lightly let his tongue lick over Jared’s hand until he saw a small smile start to form. ‘ _Or… take me with you tomorrow and let me eat his heart_.’

“Damn, you’re a lot more violent this cycle than I’ve ever seen you.” Jared glanced over to see Jensen watching him intently. “No eating people, Jen. You’re not that kind of wolf and said you never would be.”

‘ _Yeah, I know, I know.’_ Jensen did. He wasn’t sure if it was the hidden fear he could scent coming off Jared, the bruises he saw on his upper arm and face, or something else entirely, but he just really wanted to hurt Justin Hartley for harassing Jared. ‘ _I always have the urge to protect but this cycle is like 10 times worse. You’re not pregnant and didn’t tell me yet, are you_?’

It had been three years and a surprise miscarriage that revealed that Jared could get pregnant by Jensen and could carry a child, even though he wasn’t a transmorph. The doctor had gently explained that Jared had a rare gene that had gone undiagnosed all his life because no one ever had reason to test him for it. She’d also explained that the miscarriage hadn’t happened because of what Jensen was as there had been a few rare cases of a human and a transmorph mating. It had been the stress of moving, of the changes in both of their lives, and not enough proper nutrition since Jared had just thought he’d had the flu.

They’d tried since then but with no luck, and while Jared was always disappointed, Jensen was more worried about Jared’s health if he did conceive again. He’d never thought of having kids since he was gay, and while he’d love to bring new life into the world with the man he loved and cherished, Jensen also didn’t want to endanger either his husband or the baby.

The last time Jared had been pregnant he’d gotten more protective and ‘snarly’, as his partner on the force had joked, and Jensen realized he was getting that way again even though they hadn’t actively tried to make a baby in months. Jared had been working so much and Jensen had recently been shot in the line of duty, so their lovemaking had usually just been slow, relaxing sex that they both enjoyed.

“No. Not that I know of.” Jared blinked at the question because it did make sense. “Tomorrow, I can pick up a test or stop by the clinic to be sure but… I haven’t felt sick, just tired.”

‘ _Humor the unhappy wolf in your house. Skip work, go to the clinic. Then come home and maybe we’ll take a drive.’_ Jensen had sat up on his hind legs to lick over Jared’s face and this time heard a happy laugh that still thrilled him to hear. ‘ _Or you’ll drive and I’ll scare innocent passersby who think you’re driving with a wolf in the car or…’_ He stopped as Jared’s long arms wrapped around his neck and felt his husband bury his face in his fur like Jared had always done right from the first night they’d met. ‘ _Or… go to turn in your resignation, go to the clinic, come home and we’ll start trying to find you a job someplace that appreciates you.’_

This wasn’t the first time quitting had come up, and while Jared loved his job he no longer loved the environment. He didn’t like to feel threatened or harassed at work and he knew if he told Jensen everything, what would happen the moment his husband was human again.

‘ _Huh. You tend to forget that I can hear those too loud thoughts when you’re worried, right, babe_?’ Jensen thought over their link but stayed still to let Jared rub his face against soft fur, knowing it was something he did to soothe himself when upset and needing Jensen’s touch. ‘ _The second I change back you are telling me everything. Then I am going with you to turn your resignation in and I will make damn certain that bitch understands if she even thinks of giving you grief over it_ , _or withholding your pay or benefits_ , _we will sue and I will make certain she gets visited by Vice a few times_.’

Quitting sounded good, but Jared didn’t want to seem like he was quitting over Justin’s constant and now much bolder sexual advances. He promised to talk with his supervisor the following day before telling her he was taking the day off to go to the clinic.

‘ _Fine, I’ll settle for that right now_.’ Jensen agreed but Jared could tell by the wolf’s body language and the tone of his thoughts that his husband was far from happy with it. ‘ _You’re tired and sore. I need to expend some energy_ , _so I’m going to go run the back yard until I no longer want to rip his heart out. You shut the lights off, grab a sappy movie and some snacks_ , _and head on up to the bedroom. I’ll be up as soon as I get the run in.’_

The house was average sized, but the yard was large enough so Jensen, when in wolf form, could run because as they learned while in college, a wolf running indoors just did not work that well. They knew when they bought a home it needed a yard. Of course, Jared laughed when Jensen bitched about how much grass there was to mow since the man insisted on mowing it himself rather than pay someone to.

They’d equipped the back door so Jensen, in this form, could go in and out at his pleasure which also eased Jared’s worry about him being stuck indoors all day during this time if he was working and couldn’t get home at lunch. Once he heard the door swing shut as Jensen took off to burn some energy, Jared sat still for a little while longer on the sofa to just relax.

He knew he needed to make a job change, if only for his own peace of mind and now Jensen’s. Jared had been offered a PT position at the University a couple years ago but he’d turned it down then. But… he had been told if he ever changed his mind to let them know.

“Maybe it’s time to do that,” he muttered as he started to stand to go see which movie they’d watch. He knew Jensen would only sit still through a sappy movie when he was like this and then Jared swore, even as a wolf, his husband would roll his eyes and make snorting noises over the sappiest parts.

He’d just picked one out when he heard the front doorknob rattling as if someone was trying to open it. Jared frowned. Their front door wasn’t wolf-accessible because Jensen didn’t go out the front door unless Jared was with him, so he didn’t think it would be Jensen.

They did have a couple friends who would sometimes drop in without calling, but usually they both would knock. “Who is it?” he asked while keeping his hand on the knob, curling his fingers around the bat he kept in the corner even though most people knew Jensen was a cop and carried a gun… when he had fingers.

“Hey, open up.”

The voice he heard had Jared’s breath stopping and his stomach knotting. He was far from a coward, given he was 6’4”, broad shouldered and had been taught to fight by Jensen who had always been a fighter since growing up basically a target of other people’s hate. It was just hearing Justin’s too smooth voice after their encounter in the locker room earlier that day that made him want to back away from the door and hope the man took the hint to leave him alone.

“Jare, c’mon. Open the door so we can talk,” Justin called loudly as he began to pound on the door while jostling the knob. “Put a leash and muzzle on that mutt or lock his ass outside so you and I can talk like humans.”

Jared was going to continue to leave it alone, to ignore the annoying man in favor of calling the cops, but he heard those words and the temper that took a lot to light just went white hot. “Jensen is more human than you, Hartley!” he snapped angrily while jerking open the door with the intention of shoving the blond man off the front porch. He wasn’t expecting the fist that hit his face or the hand that grabbed his throat as Justin Hartley pushed his way in the door. “Justin, no! Get… mmhm!”

Jared had been trying to clear his suddenly blurry vision after taking the blow to his face as well as keep the man out, when he felt his back hit the wall hard and something was shoved in his mouth while strong hands grabbed his, even as he was lashing out.

“Shut up!” Justin was tired of playing games and had decided it was time this stupid ass figured out who was boss and accepted the role Justin expected him to play. “I told you earlier I was done with this cat and mouse game, Padalecki! I told you flat out from the first time I saw you when I was hired that I wanted you, and like I told you earlier, I always get what I want.”

Justin had never been denied before. When he chose someone he wanted to fuck, man or woman, he got what he wanted for as long as he wanted. This stupid moron was the only one to ever refuse him and keep refusing him even though Justin had decided he wanted him.

The fact that the guy’s so-called ‘husband’, some transmorph freak who thought he was a cop, had gotten in his face more than once didn’t deter Justin from wanting Jared; it just made him want to show the stupid ass that he needed to be with his own species as it sickened him to think of Jared with some freak of nature that wasn’t even a real human.

That night after Jared had finally shoved him away from his little ambush in the locker room and told him to leave him the hell alone, that he was married and wanted nothing to do with Justin, the man had stewed angrily until he decided it was time to settle things.

The owner of the physical therapy clinic had learned of the complaints Jared, as well as other employees and clients, had been laying on his actions and had promised to fire him if he didn’t leave both the employees and the clients alone. Justin had been fired before so he didn’t care about that, but if he was going then he’d take what he wanted most first; to teach Jared a lesson.

“Where’s your mutt, Jare?” he asked with a sneer as he kicked the front door shut but didn’t bother to lock it. He’d come prepared for the damn wolf he knew should be there since he’d heard one of the other therapists asking Jared how he was doing being stuck in the house during his cycle.

Justin, like many others, believed transmorphs were even lower on the species chain than were-creatures and should all be destroyed before they could continue to reproduce. When he heard the girls at the clinic saying that Jared had already been knocked up once by the mangy thing, and was _actually_ trying again, he was so both disgusted and furious that a hot looking, normal guy, like Padalecki would rather let some freak touch him than a real human. He’d overlook Jared’s own freakish abilities until was done using his ass.

Right then he was going to show him who was boss and then go use the damn gun he borrowed— _stole—_ from his roommate on Jared’s so-called ‘soulmate’ before finishing up with Jared since then he could take his own sweet time.

He’d shoved a rag out of his car into Jared’s mouth to keep him from shouting and possibly alerting the mutt of trouble and planned to tie him up as soon as he got him better under control. So Justin reached to grab a handful of dark hair that just touched Jared’s shoulders to jerk his head back when a fist came out of nowhere to hit him in the jaw.

“Damn it!” he yelled and launched another blow of his own when he had to lunge to grab Jared as he tried to put distance between them. “No! I said I planned to have you and I will! No goddamn freak transmorph is going to keep me from having… ugh!”

Jared could feel his heart pounding, as well as his stomach churning in knots of fear and desperation, to put distance between them, but also to keep Justin away from Jensen as he’d seen the gun the man had shoved in the waistband of his jeans, fearing who it was meant for given he knew Justin despised Jensen.

The moment he finally got some space, he jerked the rag out of his mouth. But before he could shout or even try to get to the phone to call the cops, he went down hard on the living room floor after an enraged Justin lunged, both men going down but Jared tried to catch himself with his already bruised arm and cried out, landing hard on it.

He then felt his face striking the carpeted floor as Justin used the grip he had on his hair to repeatedly bash Jared’s face into it while screaming obscenities at him in a blind rage.

Jared struggled to throw the man off but with his one arm pinned under him and his other trying to reach back to attempt to free his hair he couldn’t find any leverage. He felt his vision blurring as he was quickly losing consciousness, when in the back of his head he heard something crash, felt a surge of emotion that he knew wasn’t his, a moment before he heard something else and wasn’t sure to be relieved or terrified.

“You stupid prick! You stupid _human_ prick! You’re supposed to be with your own kind! You’re not supposed to be friends with, much less fuck something like that thing you claim to love! It’s not right! It’s not the way things are supposed to be!” Justin was shouting as he continued to bash a slowly weakening Jared’s face into the floor.

He was so angry that Jared hadn’t immediately caved at the first punch like he thought he would, that he’d actually fought back. Justin got so infuriated that he forgot they might not be alone; he forgot, or didn’t realize, what it meant for someone like Jared to be more than mates, but bond-mates.

He forgot until something crashed from the kitchen and then there was the sound of snarling, pissed off wolf stalking through the living room with nothing but hate and murder in glittering green eyes as it took in the scene in the living room.

Jensen had been running the yard in an effort to not only expend built up energy but the pent-up rage he’d felt from the moment he saw the bruises on Jared earlier.

Both as a wolf and a man, Jensen felt and knew he always would feel protective toward Jared. The feeling had been there from the first night he felt his fear and would stay with him all his life. So to know his best friend, his soulmate, his lover and husband, was being harassed not only sexually at work but now it was turning physical, infuriated both sides of Jensen until he was literally seeing red.

Jensen had always been able to read people. He figured it was due to being abandoned as a little kid and having to quickly learn not to trust his so-called foster parents all the time. When he’d been a teenager, until he aged out of the system, he’d spent more time on the streets and while the rural Tennessee town wasn’t anything like a big city the dangers were still there and he’d learned the hard way to avoid them.

Now at 30 years old as a husband and a cop, those lessons were still with him and the moment he’d first met the tall, lean blond guy who had made no attempt to hide his disgust when meeting him, Jensen had known Justin Hartley would be trouble, but he had been willing to let Jared handle it… until now.

By his 10th trip around the yard, some of Jensen’s dark anger had started to disappear and he just wanted to go inside, climb on the bed they always shared and let Jared use him for a pillow while trying not to make too many wolf style snorts at whatever movie Jared had chosen for them to watch. Jensen planned to deal with the prick harassing his husband as soon as he shifted back to human.

The wolf was just slowing his run to a slow trot when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, ears picking up and nose scenting. The scent was strong, too strong to be natural, and reminded him of back in Tennessee when he learned some people would try to mask the scent of human before going into the woods in hopes of avoiding any of the packs that lived there.

The thick fur on Jensen’s back was starting to rise but when he took another step with his ears still raised to listen he heard a sound, but it was more what he felt that had him bolting back to the house. He didn’t even consider letting himself in like he normally would; the moment he felt Jared’s fear go up and then heard a cry of pain, the wolf just leaped and let his strength and the weight of his body send the heavy kitchen door crashing down.

The second the door was down the scents in the house hit him and it was everything Jensen could do to not let the sudden rage take over. He could easily smell Jared’s fear as well as blood but he also scented the other man. And like any wolf, normal or were, when a wolf scents a threat to his mate all bets were off and blood would be shed.

He heard the angry shouts, the racial slurs and other obscenities, but the moment Jensen stepped from the kitchen to take in the scene in the living room all he saw was Justin Hartley pinning a struggling Jared on the floor while slamming his already bloodied face into carpet. All Jensen could feel was Jared’s pain, his fear as well as his jumble of thoughts, and then all he wanted was that asshole off his husband and out of his house… or lying in a pool of blood, depending on which side of Jensen won control right then.

He heard himself growl, saw the man jerk his head up and locked eyes with him before it finally must have dawned on Justin just how screwed he was. He began to yank Jared up as if planning to use him as a shield, only Jared was barely conscious by this point and nearly deadweight.

“Stay back! Stay away from me or I’ll kill him!” Justin shouted as the wolf slowly stalked closer but he was unable to move Jared. He yanked the weapon he had shoved in his jeans out to wave it between the wolf and Jared. “I’ll kill you! I swear if you don’t stop I’ll…”

Jensen did stop but just to try to sense how badly Jared was hurt. The wolf in him wanted blood as he caught a glimpse of glassy hazel eyes, the blood on his face, as well as the new bruises. The man wanted to be able to cause Justin as much pain as he’d caused Jared, but right then it would be the wolf who would have to handle this situation no matter how much he wished he could force a change.

“……Jen…” the weak voice tore at Jensen’s heart but then the sharper cry of pain as Jared’s hair was yanked when Justin jerked his head up to jam the barrel of the pistol under his jaw. “P-please… He’ll… hurt you.”

‘ _No, he won’t hurt me, babe. Just stay still. I’ve got this_.’ Jensen sent his thoughts out as calmly as he could but the wolf was furious that this asshole had hurt his mate and was still ranting instead of using the time to get the hell out.

He growled again while taking another slow step but this time he moved his head to look toward the front door as if plainly giving the asshole a chance to get out. Either Justin was too stupid to take the opening, or was too busy ranting about Jared letting that freak touch him when he could be with normal humans, to realize he’d been given the only chance to escape Jensen would offer.

“I’m gonna shoot that damn freakin’ mutt and then show you what sex with a real man is!” Justin shouted as he gave Jared’s head another shove while trying to level his weapon at the large wolf that was practically vibrating with hate as it bared its teeth at him. “All you freaks should be wiped out! It’s bad enough we have to deal with the damn weres, but your kind can’t even all stay in one species! You never know what your mongrel kids will shift into and the thought of this dumbass helping you bring another one into this world makes me sick! Hell, I should just shoot you both. In fact…”

Jensen had been letting the asshole rant while trying to decide the best way to get him away from Jared without either of them being shot since he knew while he was fast in this form, he was not fast enough to outrun a bullet; getting killed was not an option since he would not leave Jared alone to face someone that wasn’t only an arrogant bastard but an arrogant, racist bastard.

His lips curled back with bit more force to his snarl as if warning Justin to let Jared go as he began to hunch down. He was close enough that a single lunge would take him where he needed to be, but so long as that damn pistol was aimed at Jared he couldn’t risk it.

Justin looked between the wolf and Jared as if deciding before he suddenly swung his arm with the pistol up to aim it at Jensen. “You bleed first, wolf,” he sneered and started to pull the trigger.

Jensen tensed and started to leap in hopes of avoiding the bullet if he waited long enough to move, but before he could there was a sudden shout and Jensen swore everything went into slow motion for him.

He’d been about to let Justin commit to pulling the trigger before he attempted to lunge to the side and hopefully avoiding the bullet, but just as he saw the finger move, Jared, who was barely conscious, suddenly jerked his body with a shout.

Jared’s thoughts weren’t clear but he could still hear Justin and he could sense Jensen, so he knew his husband was in danger. The moment he thought he felt Justin move a little off of him, heard him say something about shooting Jensen and almost sensed Jensen trying to gauge which way to move, he knew he had to do something if only to buy Jensen time to get clear of the shot.

“No!” he shouted as he used what strength he could muster from having his head beat on the floor to rear back while twisting his upper body to try and knock Justin off balance or even to maybe make him drop the weapon.

The sound of the gun going off was loud inside the house but it was louder to Jensen’s canine ears right then. Though what was louder to him was the sound of Jared’s cry of pain before he saw the younger man drop back to the floor with his hand going to his shoulder as Justin fell back while trying to re-aim. Jensen wasn’t giving him that chance.

He’d lunged the moment Justin was away from Jared’s prone form; using the weight and strength of his wolf form to finish knocking the man to the floor, seeing the weapon slip from his fingers as he had a brief moment to consider tearing into the soft flesh of Jared’s attacker’s throat.

Never had Jensen ever let the wolf side have this much control; never had he felt this much animal rage before during one of his cycle changes. This was the first time that he actually had to battle back a little or else he knew he could easily kill Justin and not feel remorse given what the man had been putting Jared through.

His front paws pressed down on Justin’s shoulders to pin him to the floor while he used the rest of his body weight to keep him from trying to throw him off while baring his teeth, snarling and longing for blood even as Justin began screaming bloody murder about wild animals, monsters, and how all his kind should be destroyed.

Jensen had long since given up wishing bigots like Hartley would ever go away. He knew that transmorphs would not be accepted into most regular society when even others of his kind didn’t always accept one another depending on the breed of animal involved; his own abandonment showed that to him.

The more crude threats toward Jared, however, had his ears going back and his teeth showing more as he snapped at Justin’s face until the man’s threats and insults broke off into now terrified screams as it finally must have dawned on him that he had a pissed off wolf standing on his chest and could very easily rip his throat out.

Jensen could see the bruises on Jared from earlier. He could smell blood now and wanted to cause blood to be shed of his own. He snapped again, this time getting closer to Justin’s throat when finally another voice made it through the red haze of his brain while tensing automatically at the feel of fingers trying to curl into his fur.

“Jen… stop. Please?”

Glittering green eyes turned just enough to glance back to see that Jared had managed to get to his knees and was kneeling beside where he had Justin pinned. The wolf noticed Jared’s one hand was trying to clutch his upper arm where blood could be seen seeping between his fingers while using his other to touch his fur as if seeking to calm him down or get his attention.

Jensen made no move to get off of Justin. In fact, he increased the strength of his front paws when he felt the little prick try to move, growling at him in clear warning when he saw his arm start to move as if to reach for Jared, but his husband was safely out of reach, yet still close enough to touch Jensen.

“Jensen… come back to me. You’re not the wolf, remember? You’re not like those mean wolves who tried to hurt me when we first met. Jen? Please… if you do this, even though he deserves it for what he’s done, you could still lose your job. They could take you away from me and… I don’t want to lose you, Jen.” Jared’s voice was soft, slurred from both the pain in his face and the shock he was slipping into, but he struggled to stay with Jensen. “I… I managed to find the phone. I called 911 and the dispatcher said the police were coming so… please… don’t kill him. If I am pregnant, I’ll need you… the baby will need you. We both will need you, Jen.”

The wolf wanted blood, it wanted to make this bastard under him pay for the pain, the fear he’d caused Jared to feel. He wanted him to lose blood like Jared was losing. The wolf wanted to give in and rip Justin’s heart out of his chest but the feel of weak fingers shaking as they curled into his fur as Jared had to lean over more and rest his head against Jensen, he slowly began to push the man back more into control.

The sounds of sirens could be heard even as Jensen shuddered. He kept Justin pinned but did finally clear his thoughts of the murderous rage to ‘hear’ Jared’s thoughts as well as his voice begging him to calm down and come back.

“ _Jay,”_ he said over their link and heard a soft sob from where Jared’s face was buried against his fur even as the front door was opening and a voice he knew was his usual partner shouted. “ _I’m… I’m with you, babe_.” Jensen promised while giving a woof just as several uniformed officers stepped in and Justin began shouting about shooting the monster who was trying to kill him and Jensen felt Jared tense.

“No! Jensen’s just protecting me!” Jared had heard the police arrive, heard Justin telling them to shoot and feared if any of them didn’t know better or know whose house this was, that they actually might.

A plain clothed detective who’d stepped into the house first took in the scene while running his fingers through short blond hair before taking a step closer to see the wolf tense but didn’t growl.

“The door shows signs of tampering, this place looks like a fight happened, Jared looks like someone beat the crap out of him. You’re the only asshole present with blood literally on his hands and a gun nearby that I’m betting will match up with the one reported stolen earlier by your roommate, and you’re accusing Detective Ackles of _trying_ to kill you?” Chad Michael Murray, Jensen’s partner and friend, took in the scene before aiming his weapon at the man pinned under the wolf.

“Dude, if Jensen had wanted to kill you for touching Jared, you’d have already been a chew toy. Now, stay real still while I talk him into moving and don’t go giving any of us a reason to shoot you,” he ordered while nudging the stolen weapon over to another officer with the toe of his shoe. “So… there’s an ambulance on the way since Terri in dispatch said Jared sounded pretty bad. Now I see that he looks worse than he probably sounded. Jensen? Can you move so the boys can cuff Hartley and get him down to the station for booking since I guess Jaybird here will press assault charges?”

Jared nodded while trying to hold onto Jensen and try to coax him into stepping back even as Justin’s rants had now picked up to include pressing charges against Jensen for attacking him. “He was defending me after you broke into our house and attacked me after you tried to assault me at the office earlier!” he yelled, needing to defend his husband while also beginning to notice the room was moving in a way he didn’t think it should be. “Jensen was only… only… whoa… am I moving?”

“Jared!” Chad saw Jared sway a little too much as he tried to tug on the so far unmoving wolf and had been going around to grab Jared by the arm when he saw a flash of white a moment before Jared passed out and suddenly a very human Jensen was there. “Shit! Ja…okay, I didn’t think you could do that.”

“Yeah, neither did I. I… I’ve never been able to force a change before and couldn’t all night even when I wanted to.” Jensen had sensed something was wrong and had been slowly moving so his follow officers could cuff a ranting Justin when he noticed Jared’s eyes roll back a moment before the younger man started to crumple to the floor.

He’d naturally wanted to catch his husband and had moved on instinct even though he knew he couldn’t do anything but maybe cushion Jared with his body, when suddenly he felt himself shift from wolf to human and his arms quickly moved to grab Jared before his stunned partner even got close to do it.

Jensen wasn’t certain what had caused his sudden shift as from his reckoning, he had another two or three days to endure the cycle, but as he eased a trembling Jared closer against his chest he decided not to question it and just be glad it happened.

Officers were quick to take control of Justin who was cuffed, read his rights, and hustled outside to avoid either Jensen or one of them from accidently shooting the asshole.

The paramedics were just coming in the door as a smirking Chad was holding out a blanket to an oblivious Jensen as his whole focus was on the bruised and battered young man in his arms.

“Better cover up before I have to arrest you for indecent exposure or something, Jensen,” Chad remarked while making sure to keep his eyes pointed up rather than at the very naked Jensen. “Do you always… shift naked or should I even ask?”

“Huh? Oh… crap!” Jensen hadn’t considered that and grabbed for the blanket while a blushing young female paramedic asked if she could check Jared’s vital signs. “When I do it other times my clothes shift with me but… for some damn reason during cycle shifts I always seem to shift back naked,” he gathered Jared closer to him when he heard a soft whimper of pain as the paramedic touched his face. “Make sure he stays in a cell, Chad. Jared will press charges but I need him in a cell until he wakes up so he doesn’t bolt.”

“Yeah, I’ll handle Hartley. His roommate had already filed a complaint for stealing his gun so that’ll put him inside for at least 12 hours. You go pull on some clothes so you can ride with Jared and then I’ll go book him. I’ll stay here with Jaybird until you get back down,” Chad said, knowing he couldn’t leave the house until Jared was settled in the ambulance because right then Jensen was still on edge and would snap on the first poor EMT who caused Jared pain.

Jensen frowned but helped lay Jared on the stretcher that had been brought in. He didn’t ever like to leave him alone, even with a friend, but knew he had to go dress. “Watch them,” he growled and took off upstairs to find his clothes.

“He just shifted back early, so he’ll probably be growling.” Chad coughed as he tried to excuse his normally gruff partner’s even gruffer attitude.

The other paramedic, a middle aged man, looked up from checking Jared’s pulse again after the move from floor to stretcher to smile. “His transmorph form is wolf, son. Any wolf is more intense when protecting his mate, but when the mate is expecting that makes it 10 times worse. Do you know how far along Detective Ackles’ husband is Detective Murray?” he asked while calling off vitals and seeing the look of shock that came over Chad’s face while offering the stethoscope to the stunned man. “I’ve been a paramedic most of my career and other than seeing that reaction plenty of times with other wolves, I can hear a heartbeat that shouldn’t be there if he’s not pregnant.”

“He… Jared’s… there’s a…” Chad knew all there was to know about his partner and his mate. Hell, Chad was a nosy type of partner who had grilled Jensen constantly when they were first made partners. He knew the men had been trying for a baby since the miscarriage but he hadn’t thought it had happened yet. “Hey! You didn’t tell me you were going to be a Dad!” he yelled when Jensen reappeared after pulling on jeans, a t-shirt, shoes and his gold wedding band. “How can I start to spoil a baby if you don’t tell me there is one? Dude!”

Jensen had stopped in mid-stalk back to the stretcher to stare at his partner before his faced paled and he stared down at Jared before stepping back to take his hand in his. “We… we weren’t sure,” he murmured, stunned but now even more worried. “I… I teased him earlier that he might be since I was more… violent toward wanting Hartley hurt after Jay came home bruised today. He was going to the clinic in the morning but… this attack… did it hurt… can you tell if he and the baby are hurt or…?” he was asking the EMTs while shooting them glares as they rolled the stretcher out to the waiting ambulance. “Is he…”

“His vitals are high, but given what it looks like happened, that’s normal. The other heartbeat is steady though,” the young female paramedic was saying as they let Jensen climb in with the stretcher before following to begin to set up an IV line. “We’ll know more once we get to the hospital and he gets checked out. I’m sure they’re both fine, Detective.”

Jensen held Jared’s hand the entire trip to the ER and for as long as he could until he was told he had to step outside so they could get Jared cleaned up and run some tests. He growled and complained about that but did so only after Jared’s primary doctor stepped into the room and Jensen had more faith that his husband would be well cared for.

He had filed out forms, talked to his Captain on the phone, and used the Hospital fax machine to send out his statement of events until Jared was conscious to give one or come by the station to press charges for the assault. By the time this was all done, Chad was back and Jensen was pacing the halls swearing he was going to willingly shift just to growl at someone literally.

“Jensen?”

The on edge cop whirled at the voice of Samantha Smith, Jared’s doctor, werewolf and longtime family friend. “How is he? How’s Jared?” Jensen demanded as he took the distance between them in barely two steps. “The paramedics, they said he was… is he pregnant, Sam?” he asked while silently praying if Jared was, that nothing had happened to the baby during this attack.

Samantha waited until Jensen had settled down some and paused in his rush of questions to take a deep breath before holding something out to him. She shot a wide-eyed Chad a look to hush while watching Jensen take the small photo and stare at it, turning it as if trying to deduce what she handed him when slowly she began to see realization dawn.

“Is this…” Jensen looked again to be sure he saw what he thought he did. “He’s pregnant?”

“Congratulations, Jensen.” Samantha smiled as she turned the sonogram the correct way. “In less than seven months, you and Jared will be the proud and happy parents of a little boy or little girl,” she smiled at the way his previously tense face just went soft. “He’s going to be sore and bruised, and I’m recommending some time off until we see how he handles being pregnant, but I think they’ll both be fine. Go see him now.”

Jensen had a hundred things he wanted to ask but right then all he could do was nod, mutter something to Chad about not spoiling his kid and then he was running down the hall until he got to the room Samantha had told him was Jared’s to step inside.

Jared appeared to be sleeping as he laid in the hospital bed, one of his arms in a sling and Jensen guessed that must have been the one that had been hurt before and then possibly damaged more during the attack by Justin.

As Jensen stepped closer he saw how pale Jared was under the new bruises. He also noticed one eye looked to be swelling more and vowed that Justin Hartley would not walk from this attack, no matter what Jensen had to do to see the man stay behind bars.

He sat down on the edge of the bed to stare at his sleeping husband’s face, feeling his thoughts through their link, and knew he was worried about being able to carry their child safely, to all worries new parents had, as well as a few that Jensen figured might be things only they worried about given Jensen was a transmorph and Jared was human.

“I love you, Jared. I loved you from the moment we met. I will love you every day of our lives together. I will this baby you and I created, and I swear that if he or she shifts, if our child gets that from me rather than being more like you, I will love him or her no matter what form it is.” Jensen murmured, leaning down to press a soft kiss against Jared’s lips carefully to avoid causing him pain, and then he lifted the thin hospital shirt so he could press an equally soft kiss to his stomach where now that he knew to sense Jensen could feel the soft flutter of the new life; a life that Jensen already loved and would cherish. “I love you both and I’ll protect you both,” he promised and then settled down to wait for Jared to wake up so they could plan their future.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Beware the Jensen**

**Chapter Two**

** Six Years Later: **

_‘Come home now! Ruthie shifted!’_

The simple text might not have seemed abnormal or upsetting to anyone else who was a transmorph, but to Detective Jensen Ackles, it was not only abnormal but also terrifying.

By the sixth month into Jared’s tense pregnancy, the doctors and specialists that had been brought in by Jared’s worried parents had said that it looked like their daughter might have some of Jensen’s transmorph genes but not enough to enable her to shift like a full transmorph baby would at five years old.

At first that had dismayed Jared, who feared, in his hyper emotional state, that Jensen would be angry or not love their baby if she didn’t shift or wasn’t like him.

“Jay, I said I’d love her no matter if she could shift or not, and if she did, I wouldn’t care what she shifted into.” Jensen had reassured his upset and emotional mate with soothing words and gentle kisses. “In some way, not shifting would be so much more a blessing since she wouldn’t have to learn so much about control and stuff so soon. It doesn’t matter, so long as both you and Ruth are safe and healthy.”

Ruth Ackles was born very healthy despite several close calls due to stress of Jared pressing charges against Justin Hartley, the trial that followed, a small issue when he had filed his paternity leave and his employer tried to deny his right to that as a male, and then the day Jared had opened their door expecting his visiting parents only to find a middle aged couple that he did not know standing there.

“Get the fuck off my porch and stay the hell away from me and my family!” Jensen had been upstairs painting the nursery when suddenly he was bolting downstairs to gently tug Jared back away from the clearly surprised couple and putting himself in front of his wary but confused husband while fighting the urge to shift at what he viewed a possible threat. “How’d you find me? Never mind, _why_ find me now when you sure as hell didn’t want anything to do with me when you dumped me because I wasn’t a cat!”

“A woman who works with your mother saw a photo of you, with your name, in the paper over some hostage situation a few months back and asked if you were any relation to us,” Kevin Ackles began with a cough, trying to cover his unease with both the reaction to the tall, lean, ruggedly handsome man who even in human form was practically bristling with anger, as well as a need to protect what was so clearly a human… a very obviously pregnant human. “We… we weren’t sure it was you or not. The last time we checked with friends in Tennessee, they’d said you’d…”

Jensen’s lips curled up in a sneer, feeling Jared’s hand on his arm and his voice in his thoughts urging him to calm down the only thing keeping his feet firmly planted. “You dumped me on the steps of a Church with a note saying your family was feline, I was the wrong goddamn form, and to put me with my own kind!”

The hurt, the anger, the shame that Jensen had always felt but hidden over that still bothered Jensen to this day and now that he was staring the couple who’d given him life but then had walked away in the face it was all coming back with a vengeance.

He stepped out onto the porch to confront the couple instead of opening his door to them because, while Jared still tried to see the good in nearly everyone, Jensen just wasn’t that open or trusting; especially not with the parents who’d left him alone at five years old to fend for himself in basically a human town with very few transmorphs, much less real wolves willing to take him in.

“My blood was your blood! _You_ were my kind!” he snapped with true anger while staring between the still grim faced couple. “I was your son. You raised me for five years! You treated me like you gave a damn, but the moment I shifted, the moment you looked at me after I did, I was no more than trash to be pitched all because I wasn’t the right species for you!” Jensen silently told Jared to stay inside when he felt him come to the screen door; he would not have his husband or their child in the middle of what he knew in his heart was going to turn even uglier than it was for him.

“We, all of the Ackles as well as most of your mother’s side, were felines, Jensen!” Kevin remarked stiffly as if not understanding why the man was so angry, even though it had been so many years since those events took place. “Surely as an adult now you must see how having a son, my first born son, shift into a…” he stopped when sharp green eyes pinned him even as his wife was touching his arm as if warning him to watch his wording. “…a canine would be viewed in the family or with my co-workers.”

Jensen had thought he’d gotten over the hurt of being told why his parents had left him, but even now when he heard it said so clinically, so coldly, it was like he was that same little boy trying to understand what he’d done wrong.

“No, actually, I don’t see that, since I always thought parents were supposed to love their kids regardless of who they were or what they were,” he shot both of his own a disgusted look as he moved just enough to let Jared step out onto the porch to let him slip his hand into his, feeling his love and support over their link even while feeling how badly Jared wanted to cut loose on both of them for their callous treatment of him as a child and how cold they sounded even now.

“I grew up shipped from one foster home to another until I aged out of the system. I was put into homes not fit for real animals much less a little kid who could transform into one! I lived on the streets of that town because it was often safer than the places _you_ caused me to be left in, all because I happened to shift into a form you were ashamed of!” Jensen took a shaky breath to try to rein in his emotions. “Why did you decide to track me down now?” he asked with a sigh. “I’m still a wolf when I shift so I’m still an embarrassment to you, so why the hell are you on my door disturbing my life and my husband?”

“Your…” his mother stopped to stare between them before moving her eyes to Jared, the distaste she felt not hidden quickly enough before Jensen saw it and instantly nudged in front of a quiet, but supportive Jared. “But… he’s a man and… he’s… human,” she looked back at Jensen as if horrified. “You’re a…you’re a transmorph. We don’t mate outside our species.”

“Actually there’s no rule stating that a transmorph and a human can’t mate if there’s a soul bond between them.” Jared finally spoke up as he’d noticed the couple’s looks and knew they were disgusted that Jensen had mated outside the species even before it clicked that he’d married a man and a human. “Jen and I were bonded from the moment we met.”

Kevin stared at him before staring at Jensen, taking a step closer. “He’s human. You mated with a human?” he curled his lip in disgust. “You’re gay. It’s obvious you’re even more defective than we first thought just by being a canine in your animal form. We’d come here to see you, to possibly… see if you had met a mate, had a child to see what it was but… clearly that… thing won’t be a transmorph much less a feline so…”

Jared had gone rigid, his hand to his belly as he swore something clenched inside him at the insult to the little girl growing inside him. He started to take a step only to feel Jensen move a second before he could.

“You came here to see if my child, if I had a child, might be feline so you could what?” Jensen was pissed and it showed when his deep husky voice dropped into the low, nearly toneless one he could use when playing cop. “You dumped me, you never came around or even tried to contact me in all these years, but because somebody you know might’ve put it together that you had a kid you abandoned you flew out here from… wherever you took off to, to see my child? As if I’d let you near my kids!

“Now because you find out I’m not only gay, but I married a human man, a human man who can carry my child, you’re both practically hissing and slinging insults?” Jensen saw his in-laws pulling up while he was deciding if he wanted to lose his temper, take his now shaking husband inside their home, shift and show his so-called parents just how defective he might be or just turn the whole sordid mess over to his petite, professionally serious scientist mother-in law.

“Get off my porch. Get away from my husband and child. Get the hell out of my life because you lost any claim on me or any children that comes from this marriage the day you dumped me for being a mutt,” he had edged Jared back into the house with a whisper to go lay down and wait for him while he backed his stumbling and cursing parents off the porch. “That’s what you almost called me earlier and that a Nun at the Church you left me at told me your note had called me.

“Even if our baby does shift, which we were told she probably wouldn’t while our next child might, she could shift into some kind of canine, a feline, or some other animal, and I will love her because she is my daughter!” Jensen snapped angrily. “Unlike you, unlike your so-called family that I wonder if they even know you had a kid you dropped off somewhere, I will love _any_ child Jared and I make together regardless of if they’re human or transmorph! Now get the goddamn hell away from me!”

Jensen spent the rest of the day soothing an upset Jared and then fighting raw terror when Jared collapsed that night and both his and their daughter’s blood pressure dropped dangerously low.

As far as Jensen was concerned, the only family they had or needed besides Jared’s loving, wonderfully accepting family, were the few close friends they had. He never planned to focus on anyone on his side since it was plain to him if his parents were so closed-minded that everyone else would probably be as well.

It was a week after Ruth was born that Jensen had stepped outside to get the mail when he was confronted by a wizened, nearly ancient looking, old man with glittering green eyes, a gnarled cane and a smirk that reminded Jensen of his own.

“You get the wolf side because your great-great-great-great-granny mated a human man from the North who had wolf blood in him,” he addressed Jensen in a voice much deeper than his small form looked like he would have. “It’s a shameful secret in the Ackles line that no one talks about, but you are by far not the first child to shift into a wolf or other canine in this family, and you probably will not be the last. You also won’t be the last to mate a human.

“What your parents did to you as a fledgling was horribly cruel. Had I known Kevin and Amelia’s child hadn’t died as they claimed to the family, I would’ve sent for you, boy,” he gazed up at Jensen as if looking through him, as if testing him, before letting out a soft grunt and tapped his cane on the ground before taking a step closer to the porch to hold out an envelope.

“I don’t expect you to want anything to do with your kin on this side considering you grew up pretty damn well without us from what I’ve learned about you now, but I made a promise to my sainted mother to look after all the young ones in this family if their own parents failed, so I’m here to give you this. Even if you and your mate don’t want it, use it for when your pretty little leopard heads for college.”

Jensen eyed the little old man warily for a long moment before slowly reaching out to take the thick envelope and nearly fell off the porch when he looked inside. “How much… who are you? Why would you give this to someone you’ve never met?” he demanded but realized he’d kept his tone lower than he normally would’ve as if in deference to this wizened old man’s age.

“I am someone who has let the family get too spread out and too out of touch with the old ways thanks to these dang modern technologies like cell phones and… online chatting,” the old man snorted with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I am the oldest of your kin, Jensen. When old traditions were still upheld, your parents would’ve been required to bring you to me upon birth to meet, to spoil, but I fear the young ones no longer respect those ways,” he sounded sad about that while peering up at Jensen before looking past him to offer a calming smile. “She’s a pretty one.”

Jensen had sensed Jared was close and knew he had Ruth since the baby had a schedule she kept that amazed both parents. He glanced back to see his family in the door before glancing to the old man again and recalling something he’d said. “Ruth doesn’t have enough of my genes to shift the doctors said, much less to something as complicated as a leopard,” he said only to see a bright light of mischief shining from green eyes.

“We’ll see in a few years then, won’t we?” the old man chuckled as if aware of something the younger men weren’t. “I can’t take back the pain you’ve felt at being left by those so-called parents of yours, but I will assure you that Kevin and Amelia will learn that while the old traditions might be forgotten, they are not dead. I will make sure nothing like what happened to you ever happens to another of my blood. Now… I will leave you and your family in peace.”

Jensen paused to have a brief silent conversation with his mate before letting a bit of the wolf in him out to sense more of this little old man’s intentions before making his next choice. “Would… you like to come in for coffee and… meet my family?” he asked carefully and was rewarded with a bright, if slightly surprised, smile before the wizened old man nodded his head in acceptance.

After that meeting with what Jensen learned would’ve been a great-uncle several times removed, his and Jared’s lives progressed as normal as any young couple with a growing and energetic baby girl would be.

Jared chose to stay at home rather than go back to work right away so he could raise their daughter over placing her in daycare. He quickly learned being a stay-at-home parent took even more energy than his job at the physical therapy clinic had as Ruth was almost never still and even as a baby, very eager to learn and explore new things.

Jensen still had to deal with his twice a year cycle shifts which annoyed him more since it was hard to help Jared with the baby when he was a wolf. Though he figured he’d never forget the look on his exhausted husband’s face the day he came in from a run in the backyard carrying a sulky 1-year old Ruth by the back of her romper after she’d managed to get out the back door to follow him.

‘ _So we… might have to start baby-proofing the house since even as a baby our kid is an escape artist_ ,’ he’d said once Jared had calmed down from his near fit at not being able to locate their child inside the house. ‘ _Jay, I swear, nothing will ever happen to Ruth. She will always be safe and look at it this way, if she’s this sneaky as a baby? Imagine what you’d be going through if and when she did shift._ ’

The odd comment by the little old man never left Jensen’s mind but as the years passed by, as they passed Ruth’s fifth birthday with no shifting and their rambunctious little girl started school— another emotional time for both men— he’d let it slip out of his memory… until he got the text from Jared that morning about an hour after he’d left for work.

Now Jensen was racing home with his heart in his throat and worry huge since as far as he knew, no transmorph had ever shifted past the age of five. He was also vowing to sue every damn doctor who’d told them their child wouldn’t shift.

The moment he bolted into the house, Jensen caught the change in scent and was then running up the steps to the nursery where he could hear Jared talking softly, but the sounds he was hearing back was not Ruth’s excited chatter.

“Jared?” he stepped into the nursery to see Jared sitting on the floor beside the toddler bed they’d put up when their daughter was three since she kept climbing out of her crib and Jared was scared she’d fall.

“I… I came in to wake her for breakfast and to start getting her ready to go to the zoo but…” Jared glanced back over his shoulder with a slow, slightly worried smile, while moving to allow Jensen to see past him. “You meant what you always promised me, right? About loving her no matter if she shifted or what she shifted into?”

“Of course I do, Jay,” Jensen answered, confused to what was scaring his husband when he also picked up the fear from his daughter. “Ruthie, Daddy loves you,” he said as he looked and felt his chest tighten while he gave himself a quick moment to offer a silent snarl to that damn little old man as he found himself looking into beautiful yellow-green eyes of his little girl as she sat on her bed chasing the new tail that went along with the soft spotted fur of her sleek and small leopard form. “Well, look at you, baby girl!”

Jensen knelt down slowly to hold out his hand and laughed when their daughter didn’t just rub against his hand but pounced on his chest until he fell back to the floor. Then she licked his face before curling up on his chest as if happy her Daddy wasn’t angry at her being a kitty.

Jensen wasn’t angry, he wasn’t embarrassed. Once he got over his fury at the doctors for being wrong, and adjusted to the local firemen dropping by his desk at least once or twice a week to regale him with tales of how high his little girl had climbed this time, he was thrilled as well as so damn proud because Ruth was so happy that she was like both of her Daddies.

Of course that didn’t mean the protective wolf didn’t come out in Jensen, because it did, and he wasn’t afraid to let anyone know what he thought of them if they made his little girl cry.

He and Jared had always been honest with Ruth, even as a baby when she was really too young to understand about what Jensen was and that some people might be mean or make fun of her when they learn her Daddy could shift to be a wolf and that some other people who could shift, might be mean if they learned her other Daddy couldn’t.

In the small Oregon town they lived there were a little of both, but for the most part, the couple had been lucky to avoid any serious hate against either of them… until Ruth went back to school that fall after her shift and Jensen got a call from his pissed off husband that had him leaving Chad in charge of questioning a robbery suspect so he could head for the local elementary school.

In their time together, Jensen knew it took a lot to make Jared angry enough to use certain curse words, so when he picked up his desk phone to hear his normally quiet, easy going mate using words that he’d never heard him use except during 35 hours of excruciatingly painful labor, he knew something had happened.

“Your so-called ‘teacher’ here called my daughter names no one should be called if they’re an adult, much less a six year old child still adjusting to having the ability to shift at will.” Jared’s voice was low without a trace of the soft drawl Jensen knew he had, so right when he stepped into the Principal’s office, he was immediately on guard and already willing the wolf side down due to the scents and emotions he could feel in the room. “She asked the class what they did over the summer. My daughter is a very literal child who prefers action over words so she showed the class what she’d done over the summer and then was insulted and made to feel like a freak until she ran out and _thankfully_ your school nurse found her. Now you’re telling me to calm down and not make a scene? Oh, hell no! If you think this is a scene? Then wait until her father gets here or what I plan to do when I call the goddamn county school board who preaches about tolerance and acceptance for all in this district or…”

“Jared.” Jensen had picked up all the comments but he’d also picked up his husband’s thoughts so he had a fairly good idea what was happening. Knowing this, he intentionally left his badge to show where he wore it instead of removing it like he normally might’ve as he didn’t usually like to rely on his police status; this time he did. “So… should I ask or just snarl?” he asked while sliding a narrowed look between the stern faced young woman who was clearly at fault and an embarrassed older woman behind the desk. “I’m leaning toward snarling right now, but right this moment I want to know where Ruth is.”

“One of the mothers of a friend took her to her house to play until we pick her up.” Jared replied while giving a more private explanation. ‘ _She’s already scared and hurt. Her hearing is also as acute as yours and I didn’t want her hearing anything else today so Maxine took her to play with Sara. I told her we’d pick her up soon._ ’

Jensen grunted at that but saw the reasoning behind it since he actually knew their daughter’s hearing was somewhat more enhanced than his. He flicked his hard gaze to the Principal. “Didn’t we have this discussion at Open House?” he asked tightly. “Didn’t Jared and I tell you and all the teachers on that piece of paper you people give out that Ruth shifted over the summer and might show more transmorph signs than she had last year? Did you or did you not assure us that our child would not be treated any differently than your other human or full transmorph students… or did something happen between then and now and… who the hell is this because she isn’t the teacher you said would be Ruth’s primary teacher.”

Now that Jensen was there and was clearly in protective mode, Jared had sat back down in his seat but still shot the teacher disgusted looks as the Principal sought to explain the substitute situation, as well as apologize for the uncalled for behavior of the young woman in question.

“Ruth is a bright and delightful child to have in our school, Detective Ackles,” she was saying while standing up to move around the desk, but kept her distance from the angry parents. “I thought I had explained to Miss Young, a visiting teacher for the week, that Ruth was still learning a little fine control but…”

“Ruth had control over her shifts unless she’s scared, just like all young transmorphs get, and then she shifts automatically as a way to protect herself,” Jared snapped and was angry all over again but stayed seated at the feel of long fingers brushing over his neck. “The teacher’s assistant who was in the room said she called Ruth an ungodly freak of nature and all her kind should be taken into the woods and shot!” He slid his eyes to the teacher to sneer at her. “What side is that exactly since Ruth is part human?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! No human child can shift forms like she did!” The teacher scoffed while staring at the men before looking at the Principal. “I thought you meant the girl was still learning to hide being adopted by two gay men since clearly she wasn’t a natural birth but… oh my God!”

Jensen had been trying to convince Jared to calm down and let him handle this when he just simply turned on his heel while shifting seamlessly from man to wolf, lip curling as a low snarl was heard.

“Ruth isn’t adopted.” Jared had reached out on instinct to touch the top of Jensen’s head while the Principal merely sat on the edge of the desk since she’d seen Jensen shift before the first time she’d met the couple and they’d wanted to be upfront about who and what Ruth’s family was. “I gave birth to her after 30-some hours in painful labor, so don’t sit there and assume anything about our daughter.”

Jensen shifted back to smirk at the disgusted glare he got. “You judged Ruth as wrong even before she shifted but you, a teacher, had no goddamn right to call our daughter anything, and by the time I’m done you will never work in this school system or any other again, because you have no right to be near any child; human, were, or transmorph because it’s people like you who will always ensure that innocent children grow up to fear being different.”

The wolf in him, which Jensen noticed was high strung even during a normal shift, wanted to hurt this woman who had hurt his little girl, but he forced himself to hold back. “Ruth isn’t the only transmorph child in this school, only in her grade, but that doesn’t give you any excuse to insult her or make her think she’s bad. No one has that right and no one will ever make any child of ours feel that way, even if our next child doesn’t shift.” Jensen shot the Principal a hard look. “You have choices to make before I go over your damn head to the Board. You get this bitch out of this school and away from innocent children with a permanent note in her record that she is a racist or you keep her on staff and Jay and I go public to the School Board and the press.”

“That… won’t be necessary. I have requested an emergency school board meeting this evening and this will be handled then,” the older woman wasn’t a fool. She knew Jensen was a respected police officer but she also knew the Padalecki name was also powerful. She knew Jared’s parents were both well-known scientists and the last thing the school board would want was a lawsuit filed over this matter. “Bring Ruth back to class tomorrow and I promise you this will never happen again.”

“I know it won’t,” Jensen muttered while reaching for Jared’s hand. “I refuse to let our daughter know the hate I did all because she can shift forms or because her parents are two men who love each other and her. Make it right before I do… or…”

“Or my mother drops in for a visit,” Jared smirked since he knew Liz Padalecki had already stopped by the school last year to be sure her first grandchild was being taken care of.

They left the school with that and to see if the Principal kept her word about handling it. Once outside, Jensen blew out a breath but still brought the hand he was holding up to press his lips to Jared’s palm. “You okay, Jay?” he asked, worried since he felt Jared’s nerves still seemed to be a little too on edge for his liking. “You knew eventually we’d encounter that kind of hate.”

“Yeah, but… I hate to see her cry in either form and dammit, Jen… she’s so tiny yet in her leopard form so when I got here I just wanted to scoop her up and go hide with her until you got here.” Jared leaned against the car to try to settle down without noticing where Jensen’s one hand moved to as he brushed his lips over his cheeks. “Making out in front of the school won’t exactly win us more friends with anyone else who disapproves of us or… umm, where’s your car or how’d you get here and… Jen…”

Jensen honestly didn’t care at that point who saw him soothing his upset husband but since he didn’t want lectured by his Captain the following day if they were reported, he nudged Jared into the car after he snagged the keys from his back pocket. “I had a patrol car drop me off since I figured I’d want to drive home with you. You can drop me off at work tomorrow after we bring Ruth to school so I can be sure this is handled and don’t have to sic the Captain’s wife on this place.”

Jensen knew he was protective of both Jared and their daughter but it made him happy to know so many others in his department were too.

Once it got out, thanks to his overly hyper partner’s big mouth, that little Ruthie had been bullied and scared at school, the staff at school casually mentioned to Jared one day how a day hadn’t gone past in two weeks that someone from either the police or fire departments, the head of Social Services, or the police captain’s wife, hadn’t made a visit of some kind to be sure all was well in the school in general and with Ruth in particular.

Over that weekend Jensen went into one of his cycle changes, his first since Ruth began to shift, and woke up once to hear Jared chuckling. Then he heard a soft purr and felt a small fuzzy head bumping against his side that told him their daughter was up and wanted to play.

When Ruth had been crawling, she liked to crawl and lay on Jensen’s wolf form. Now in her leopard form she liked to do the same without realizing how odd it might be for others to see a sleek and tiny spotted leopard playing in the backyard or the front yard if Jared was mowing the grass with a huge black and gray wolf.

It was during this cycle change that Jensen snarled at the new neighbor who he’d noticed a month or so ago when the young man moved in two houses down had been watching Jared a little too closely when he’d see him out or they’d meet in the grocery store.

Jared had only made a couple comments about the guy being a little too friendly, so Jensen let it go as he was focused on work, their little girl who was still energetic and eager to find new things to explore both as a child and a leopard, and finding time and energy to still make love to his husband.

They had decided over the summer to start trying for their second child since Jared was now certain he could handle a six year old who liked to shift to climb anything she could as well as a baby.

“I want to give you a son, Jen,” he’d said one night after they’d made love and were just laying together in bed. “I know there’s no guarantee our next baby will be a boy but… we can always keep trying until we make a son.”

“Hmm, we might end up with six daughters and no son and I would then end up eating someone because I’m fairly certain the first boy who comes sniffing around Ruthie will be getting my wolf form in his face.” Jensen had murmured but knew he’d give in to Jared’s desire to have more children.

Jensen had thought he’d sensed something that day out front of the school, but he was certain he did while out on the front porch with Ruth as he tried to correct his stubborn child that she could not lay in wait for the mailman just to hiss at him because hissing little girls were not nice.

He’d heard the lawnmower cut off and had been moving his head to reach for the towel Jared had been using every time he took a break, when he felt all the fur on his body stand up and heard himself growl even as he was scooting their daughter inside the house before he was off the porch and planting himself in front of an uneasy but still trying to be friendly Jared when the new neighbor came over to off his ‘help’.

 _‘Tell the asshole you don’t need help_ , _or not his help_ , _and to back his grabby handed ass off our lawn before your really pissed off and protective husband takes his damn hand off… at the shoulder_ … _or I rip his throat out for now pushing a bit too hard to get your attention._ ’ Jensen spoke the words to Jared over their link but to the man who had backed up when the wolf lunged from the porch the communication was a growl.

Jared had paused in the yardwork because he was getting dizzy and hot. He’d just shut the machine off when he heard his name called and didn’t bother to hide his mutter of disgust as their neighbor just opened the front gate and walked in.

The man was probably around Jared’s age or a year younger, but he had the same attitude most men who saw him did, and just assumed it was okay to flirt. They often ignored the ring on his finger or his comments that he was married, happily married, and continued the usual song and dance. Until they ran face to face, or in this case face to pissed off wolf, with Jensen and then that usually backed them off.

This guy reminded Jared too much of Justin Hartley, who had been sentenced to a long prison sentence for not only his attack on Jared that night, but for stealing a gun, and several other people had come forward to press charges for his unwanted attention. Jared hoped he took the warning to heart when he flat out told him what Jensen had said while stepping back away from the guy who made the mistake of reaching for his arm only to jump back when this time Jensen’s teeth got close enough to tear a piece of his shirt. That sent him running out of the yard without a look back.

‘ _Since when does a ring on a guy’s left hand stop having any meaning?_ ’ Jensen muttered after spitting the shirt out and turned just in time to step closer so when Jared’s legs buckled he could support himself on him rather than drop straight to the ground. ‘ _Jay! Hey, what’s wrong?_ _Jared_?’

Jared shook his head as he felt Jensen’s nose nudging him while hearing his thoughts just as their little girl came back out of the house and ran to them to wrap her little arms around his neck.

“Daddy sick?” she asked while watching them with bright green eyes. Ruth had gotten Jared’s dark hair but Jensen’s eyes and his facial features. “Daddy bite the bad man?”

“No, I’m not sick and no, Daddy did not bite anyone… even if he did come close.” Jared assured her as he sat on the sidewalk with Ruth in his lap and Jensen sitting protectively beside them with his nose nuzzling Jared’s cheek and then Ruth’s soft hair. “I’m pregnant, Jen,” he guessed he probably should’ve told his mate that earlier but had wanted confirmation from his doctor before he did.

‘ _Yeah, I figured that out last night when I felt him kick and because I really wanted to rip that guy’s heart out of his chest for touching you._ ’ Jensen figured even his wolf form was smirking when Jared shot him a surprised look and he let his tongue lick over his cheek to hear him laugh. ‘ _As soon as you can move, take yourself and Ruth inside to cool off. Then you can call Chad to come over and finish cutting the grass because you, my wonderful Jared, are not doing yardwork while carrying a baby._ ’

Jared normally would’ve objected, but stopped when it dawned on him what Jensen had said. “You said you felt him kick. You can… tell that the baby is a… it’s a boy?” he hadn’t wanted to learn that yet as he wanted to wait for Jensen to be with him for that test, but as he stared into glittering green eyes that looked both happy and loving he held Ruth tight against his chest while spinning to wrapping his other arm around Jensen’s neck, burying his face into soft fur.

‘ _Yes, this time I can sense the baby sooner. Your scent changed last month or so and last night I could sense the baby._ ’ Jensen still hated the times he couldn’t shift back when he wanted to because he longed to hold his family now but would make up for it as soon as he did shift. ‘ _I love you, Jared._ ’

“I love you too, Jensen.” Jared stayed where he was until Ruth decided she didn’t want held and wanted to explore the yard, so he scooped her up, pulled himself to his feet, and headed for the house to make a few phone calls. He paused on the porch to look back to see Jensen following him but still casting dangerous looks down the street toward the neighbor’s house. “Hey, Chad dropped off a sign the other day he thought we could use for when Ruthie gets older but… I think it might come in handy now too.”

Jensen had been debating having a friend in the DMV run the asshole’s tags since he happened to notice he was driving on expired plates. He lifted his head to see what Jared had pulled from behind the porch swing when he let out a not so wolfish sound while deciding how to hurt his friend and partner when he came over later to finish cutting the grass. ‘ _Huh. Really?_ ’

Jared’s eyes were dancing in amused pleasure as Jensen stepped onto the porch to glare at the sign before he suddenly decided that maybe it wasn’t sure a bad idea after all.

“Technically it works since we don’t have a dog and you’re not a wolf all the time so…” Jared had sent Ruth to play with her toys before he showed Jensen the sign. He laughed as he was backed up against the porch wall as Jensen easily went onto his hind legs to let his front paws rest carefully on Jared’s shoulder to stare into his eyes. “I think ‘Beware of the Jensen’ works really well, especially for when boys start sniffing around our daughter.”

‘ _Uh, yeah. No doubts about that and it might also help the stupid morons who think they can flirt with my husband_.’ Jensen stayed where he was a moment longer before letting out a soft woof and easing down to the porch. ‘ _Fine, put the sign up and then come inside_. _We’ll snuggle with Ruthie before Chad gets here and I chase him around the yard a few times just for the sake of saying I did_.’

Jared’s laugh was pure and happy. He put the sign in their front yard before going inside to call their friend and decided that he was also removing all the curtains when he caught sight of their daughter on top the living room curtains that she liked to scale to get to the top of the bookcase that held her oldest toy and one that she wasn’t ready to let go of yet, despite her fathers’ best attempts to keep it put up.

“Ruth Jane Ackles! Get your butt down from there right now!” he put just the right amount of parental tone to that shout, but knew it was the deeper bark as Jensen came in the door as well as what Jensen snapped to their daughter, that had a soft pouty meow coming out a second before their child jumped to the floor. “Jen? Please if our son does happen to shift… please pray he takes after you and is an animal that doesn’t climb. Ruthie, are you hurt? You’re gonna break…”

Jensen watched as Jared picked the unhappy little leopard up to snuggle her while continuing to lecture on the risks of climbing and then jumping. He joined his family on the sofa to feel Ruth snuggle between them while urging Jared to stretch out with her and nap.

He waited until both Jared and Ruth had settled down and appeared to be sleeping to let himself relax more and think of what he had sensed the night before. Jensen had felt their son kick and somehow he didn’t think he’d shift because he felt more like Jared did to him… now, his little sister that Jensen could now sense as Jared snuggled closer to him, would definitely be like him.

 _‘I suppose I should warn him before the sonogram that I think he’s having twins..._ ’ the wolf thought before letting himself rest for the time their daughter was and knew he’d never let anything happen to his family; no matter who he had to growl at.

**The End**


End file.
